Pride
by Waking Hyde
Summary: Arai Masashi was, after all, a prideful being. But he was not above regular love. In fact, he desired it more than anything else, though he didn't quite understand why. Momo/Arai


**A/N: **Happy birthday, Arai! God, I love that guy! I can see why some people don't like him, but... Gee, I like him!

Also, this pairing was... Almost random. Blame my arrive-home-really-late-and-forgetting-about-fanfiction-while-packing muse. He's a bitch. But admit it, you DO think this is an awesome pairing! Also, title is random. Came up with it before the story like.. Started. Was my original idea, but it failed. x)

And no, I'm not trying to separate the Ah-Un pairing. They're just... Wait, yes I am. I like this one so much more!!

**Warnings: **Un-beta'd text, might be FAIL English, one or two swear words, shounen-ai.

**Disclaimer: **Do. Not. Own.

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**Pride**

Arai Masashi. Handsome leach and great tennis player.

Born on the 29th of March, reserve player for Seishun Gakuen's tennis team, gifted with a pretty face and an attitude to match. Yes, Arai Masashi was what one could describe as lucky.

Girls drooled over him as he walked past them in the hallway, winking mischievously at their adoring stares. Of course, he was far from the most popular boy in school. The starters on the tennis team seamed to be ridiculously loved, maybe more so because of their skills, and not looks. Arai prided himself in the opposite, despite wanting to be one of those regulars. However, he was a man who would take what he got, and do what he could with it. It was his pride that kept him holding on to that.

Though there was one thing he could not get; a decent love life. Those drooling girls looked more like retarded hippopotamuses in his opinion, rather than attractive school girls. No, Arai wanted more than them, because he knew he _could. _He knew he was too good for those girls.

Another thing that held his curiosity, yet he did not pride himself in, was the fact that he had indeed found himself a crush. No, not a crush, a _love. _Not that being in love was that big in itself, but it was the person he fell in love with that was the interesting part.

Arai Masashi had fallen in love with Momoshiro Takeshi, childhood friend, fellow classmate and regular on the tennis team. Arai had admitted, even before realizing his infatuation, that Momo, as he was affectionately referred to by his peers, was maybe one of the few of the starters who had gained his popularity for more than his skill. Momo was not only handsome enough to give Arai some serious competition, but he was also much kinder, funnier, generally nicer to be around. Arai was the badboy. Momo was the affable trickster. As easy as that.

None other than Arai himself knew of this. He was not sure why, but he had never told anyone, Must have been that damned pride of his. Though, when he thought about it, if he ever felt like telling someone, it would be a proud and confident statement.

Arai used to watch Momo interact with the freshmen. How the oh-so perfect boy could stand hanging out with them imbeciles, was beyond Arai's comprehension. Especially that Echizen boy, who was way to cocky for his own good. He should be shoved down to the ground, where he belonged.

As it turned out, Arai was not the right person to do so. He admitted it himself, but only _to _himself. Someone should put him in his place. But he could not.

Days went by, turning into weeks, even months. But still, no one even talked back to Echizen. It irked Arai not only a little, but he had to live with it. The freshman had the captain's blessing, so to speak, after all.

But this all meant that Arai had less time to see Momo, much less actually talk to him. It bothered him. Fair enough that Momo might not see him as a potential love interest, but they were still friends!

Apparently, Momo noticed this as well.

First class, the morning of March 29th, Momo approached Arai.

"Yo, Masashi!" he called to the slightly smaller boy as he made his way through the crowds. Arai turned slightly, already aware of the speaker.

"What, Momo?"

"Hey, uhm, first," Momo started nervously, catching up with Arai. "Happy birthday! Think I had forgotten, hadn't you?"

Arai did not reply.

"Well, I hadn't," Momo continued, unfazed by Arai's lack of response. "So I was thinking, I've been away on tournaments and stuff for a while now, and I'm sure it gets lonely with only the freshmen and them around..."

Arai nodded slightly, trying to remain impassive. Momo was just, in lack of a better term, _cute, _when he was excited.

"If ya wanted to," Momo proceeded, smiling. "We could go out and do something after school today, hm? Just the two of us?"

The two of them? Alone? On his birthday? Arai was not sure whether or not he should thank whatever gods were out there, or cry in dismay. Either worked fine. A whole afternoon with Momo would be great, not only the first in a decent while, but just possibly the first since he realized his true feelings for the other boy. Then again, how could he survive an entire afternoon like that without spilling? The risks of that were too great... What if Momo became disgusted with him? He had heard of such a thing happening before...

"Sure," he replied, though, with a small smile of his own. "Sounds cool. Meet ya outside the school gate after practice?"

"Awesome!" Momo smiled, raising his thumb before running away again. Arai had to smile to himself. Momo was one hell of a guy.

So Arai found himself outside the school gates after practice, waiting patiently for his friend and potential love interest. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was already ten minutes past their agreed meeting time, and he huffed with slight annoyance. Typical of that Momo, he thought, slightly bittersweet. Always late.

The silence abruptly came to a halt though, as Arai heard his name being called by the person he was waiting for.

"Masashi!!" Momo yelled at the top of his lungs. Arai turned and frowned at the sprinting second year.

"Momo, do you - "

He got no further before his lips were seized by an unknown force, almost knocking him off balance. He blinked in surprise before realizing that he was, in fact, being kissed. Being kissed by _Momoshiro Takeshi, _nonetheless.

As realization dawned upon him, he also came to notice how delightfully perfect Momo's lips felt on his own. There were no clumsy movements, no gnawing like the girls always did, just the perfect feel of soft velvet caressing his own, eventually seeking to tear apart his lips. He immediately granted the foreign tongue permission, feeling the warm feeling of joy surge through him. Before he even realized what he had done, his hand found its way up to Momo's neck, gently grabbing it and pulling it further down. Momo wasted no time in responding, and it did not take long before they were both on the ground, Momo leaning over Arai and kissing him senseless, ignoring all others that might or might not be watching.

After what felt like an eternity, Momo reluctantly pulled away, though with a smile on his face, just like usual.

"Happy birthday, Masahi."

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Might be a slightly rushed ending? I'm no good at writing fluffy scenes, and lemon, be damned if I try! But hell yes, I try to improve. Please tell me what you think.

I'm also quite curious as of to how other people view this pairing, so if nothing else, tell me your opinion on it!! =D


End file.
